evilknieval69 Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Im setting up a 350L tank, mainly for a large colony of Demasoni, but would also like to buy some electric yellows to put in there, simply because the two colours go together so nicely. Im gunna be getting (eventually) probably a colony of around 20 Demasoni, maybe a few more, and will probably get 5 or 6 E Yellows. Does that mix sounds alright so far? more or less of each? opinions please? Also, i wouldnt mind getting some Dragon Blood Peacocks aswell as i think their orangey colour would mix well with the blue/black and yellow that is already in there. Do you think that its feasable to put a group of 5 or 6 of them in there also? I was told by one person that the Dems may be a bit aggressive for these guys, but was told by another person that they would be sweet. what do you think? My main focus is the Demasoni, but because im using a bigger tank than i originally was going too, i thought i could add a few different coloured fish to give it that extra wow factor Tank will have lots of rocks, coral sand substrate, external filter, etc etc etc. Any ideas on what i can do to improve it, what i should take out, what else i could fit, etc would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 lol sounds like a good mix man I planned a similar tank and may thin the demasoni and yellows out into a smaller tank when I get the fishroom going its a pain stripping down the whole 540litre tank to catch a 2inch fish every week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Oh Evil...I just checked to see what kind of fish you were talking about...very pretty fish, love the colors. Make sure you post pics! Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewelz Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 lol yeah I know the feeling ryan, I've given up on trying to catch my girls in a 800 ltre tank. My rockwork is up to the waterline on one side. Now I just let em spit. I have less mortality rates doing it that way then trying to bring up the young in a rearing tank. Their favourite passtime is to kill each other from the moment they are released in my experience..dont know why :roll: Evilknieval69 theres no such thing as too much rockwork in your tank for these guys. If its up to the waterline even better. My fry shimmy up the rockwork to the surface for food. I guess theyre too busy watching their own butt to think about killing the sibling next to them :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Actually I have a suggestion Rogan I always planned to do when I did a tank exactly like what your planning demasoni and yellow's and maybe a species of peaock. What I planned to do was track down some black or dark grey sand, and rocks (maybe buffer in the filter) that way the fish wont get washed out in colour being based over white coral rock and rocks, I think it would also make an awesome contrast the blue of the demasoni and the yellow of the yellow's against a dark background Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Sounds good evil 8) the yellow and blue will definately look great... we are currently doing a soley mbuna display, gonna have wicked filtration on it and it's going to be stacked to the brim with mbuna species, males only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 Yep they sure are beautiful fish Caper! will definately be posting pics (im a pic-a-holic!) Jewelz, yep planning to have a fair bit of rock, as i know the Dems need lots of spaces to chill from each other, and at least they can have some places to retreat too if the going gets tough. Ryan, thats pretty much what i want to do, but dont think i can use a black substrate, unless i just use normal old brightwater gravel? Im wanting to use just round river stones, fairly large ones though. just gotta find out where to get some! I am getting the Demasoni from Ryan, in about a months time, and he said that he has yellows and maybe some Dragon bloods too, so all the fish will probably come from him at this stage, but would like to get Dems from other sources at a later date to try mix the blood up a little bit, as i wouldnt mind babys from them! Other than that, what do people think about stocking levels? what sorta numbers of each fish could i go too? im wanting 20 or so Dems eventually, and the other fish will work around them (Dems are main priority!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 You can get standard black gravel, but unsure about sand, I have pool filter sand in some tanks and thats very fine and quite dark could be a go.. As for big river rocks lol we have a river right next to us thats full of them! Just go for a cruise im sure you'll find some.. As for stocking level's if you've got a good filter you can cram them in there, none of the fish you've chosen get big, is your tank a big 4' or small 5'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 The tank is actually 1300 long (so just over 4') 450 wide and 600 high. Was custom made, used for a couple months, then i bought it. I will probably just use the bright water gravel i have, its nice stuff. and yea i will take the Van for a drive in the weekend sometime and try find some cool rocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 Ive been reading through heaps of old posts on cichlid-forum, pretty much anything with a title that thas the word Demasoni in it ive looked at lol. Just trying to get ideas, especially with the setup of rocks and different ideas for scaping it and stuff. I will probably do two Bommy sorta things, one at each end sloping up toward the top back corner. Would it be a good idea to stick a piece of 10mm poly down on the bottom of the tank before i put anything in it, just to help protect the bottom of the tank incase i have any falls or anything? Some detritus could get underneath it though if it wasnt fully siliconed down (which i dont want too do) so may just be better to miss it out.... opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 A heap of rocks is all good the demasoni like to hang out in all the hidey holes.. I dont stick poly on the bottom of my tank I have a huge ass rock in the middle of my tank probably around 30-40cm's square! It was certainly a nervous time when I stuck that into the tank it barely fit inbetween the centre and end braces.. Im just careful and the most important think with africans and rocks is to ensure you stick the rocks right on the bottom of the tank (move the gravel out of the way or twist the rock around until it touches the bottom. If you have gravel underneath they will dig under it and the rocks can fall on them making all our rocks on top also fall and potentially smashing your glass.. Apparently you can also get a lighting grate its plastic square things around 1cm square and 1cm thick, personally its just too much effort for me maybe when I smash I tank ill get around to it.. Your tanks a good size, you will need to get a descent stack of rocks in there with it being 600 high! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 mmm, the tank will take a fair amount of rock! Some people say that some africans will only go as high as the highest rock, so its best to have rocks to the top, otherwise your fish wont go there. As you say, 600 is a fair bit of height, especialy when you're only working with 450 front to back lol. should be fun stacking the rocks up and keeping them there! may have to get ye ol' silicone out again :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewelz Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 You can get black aragonite Sand. My rockwork is just under 60 high and I've had no problems. That way my fry and smaller ones have the best chance of getting a decent feed and not end up being a feed :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 Yea thats a point, there was someone on trademe selling black aragonite (which is actualy calcite) Might see how much it is and figure out how much id need and go from there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanuts Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 i put poly on the bottom of my big tank, just do like ryan suggested and put the bottom layer of rocks down before any gravel,its been in 2 years now no problems at all and its good insurance if you do have a tumble,peace of mind i call it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banaro Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 i double that ive been running polly under my limestone and gravel for some time also like peanuts has said no probs at all here either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 Ohk thats good to hear. i have a sheet of 10mm poly here so may aswell chuck it in anyway. better to be safe than sorry. I was thinking that i should just cut it so it doesnt go right to the front, or right to the sides, so that you can actually see it once its covered in gravel. the only thing im worried about is crap getting under it, but if i silicone up the edges, just leaving small gaps for a bit of water to get under it, it should be fine. i will see what happens wen it comes to putting the tank together (tank is full of plants and fish at the moment lol, gotta get the fish out of another tank and move the plants and fish to it, then can start its conversion to lake malawi styles 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropheus Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Hi Evil Got my Yellows and Demasoni in a five foot tank with rock work and they are doing very well. You right as the colour mix is pretty awesome esp with white sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Sounds wicked Tropheus! Got any pics at all?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 I had demasoni's added to a tank that had established breeding colonies of electric yellows & aceiis. All went well. The only problem was the yellows stopped breeding. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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